"Our findings suggest it may be worthwhile to screen surgery patients for vitamin D," says lead researcher Jacob M Buchowski.

"We think those with insufficient levels of vitamin D may benefit from taking 50,000 international units of the vitamin once a week for eight weeks before surgery as this may help the recovery after spinal fusion surgery."

Meanwhile, a study published in the Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism revealed that individuals taking oral steroids are twice as likely as the general population to have a significant lack of vitamin D in their system.